Four total events make up the program in road bike racing. They are:
- Men's Road Race
- Men's Time Trial
- Women's Road Race
- Women's Time Trial
Road Race Format
The road races begin with mass starts, and determining a winner is simple: the first person to the finish wins the race. In the Beijing Olympics, the men race over 245.4 km (152.5 miles) and the women over 126.4km (78.5 miles), in what is widely believed to be one of the most challenging courses in modern Olympic history. After the first relatively flat 80 km or so, riders will do seven laps around a hilly 23.8 km circuit, meaning about 170 km of rugged up and down before they see the finish in the men's race. The women follow the same challenging course, but with fewer laps around the circuit portion.
Riders Competing: 145 riders start en masse in the men's road race; 67 women riders make up the field in the women's race.
Time Trials
The time trial race is purely based on individual time scored against the clock, with riders starting one-by-one at 90-second intervals. Winner is the one with the overall fastest time. In the time trial events, the men's course is 46.8 km/29 miles, while the women compete against each other over 31.2 km/19.4 miles.
Forty male riders compete in the time trial race; 25 women cyclists compete for the time trial crown.
